What the Supreme Court’s Decision in Warhol Means for Fair Use

The Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, a fair use case that raised fundamental questions about rights and obligations of commercial artists. The Court’s opinion did not answer many of those...

The STOP CSAM Act: Improved But Still Problematic

Last month, we expressed concerns about how the STOP CSAM Act threatens encrypted communications and free speech online. New amendments to the bill have some improvements, but our concerns remain. The STOP CSAM Act Should Not Use the EARN IT Act...

As Platforms Decay, Let’s Put Users First

The net’s long decline into “five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four” isn’t a mystery. Nor was it by any means a forgone conclusion. Instead, we got here through a series of conscious actions by big businesses and...

The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online

Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information in the name of protecting children online. KOSA was introduced in 2022 but failed to gain traction, and today...

Be Skeptical of FBI Warnings About Phone Chargers

Every few years, an unsourced report circulates that “the FBI says plugging into public charging kiosks is dangerous.” Here’s why you should ignore the freakout and install software updates regularly. Your phone is designed to communicate safely...

An Update on Tornado Cash

As many will remember, in August of 2022 the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed what it called “Tornado Cash” along with a list of Ethereum digital wallet addresses, on its “Specially Designated Nationals” (SDN)...

Chris Rock Looks Very Small Right Now

After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in front of the entire world at the 2022 Oscars, we wondered how Mr.

Age Verification Mandates Would Undermine Anonymity Online

Age verification systems are surveillance systems. Mandatory age verification, and with it, mandatory identity verification, is the wrong approach to protecting young people online. It would force websites to require visitors to prove their age by...

Utah's Governor Should Veto "Social Media Regulations" Bill S.B. 152

This week, EFF asked Utah’s Governor Cox to veto a dangerous “social media regulations” bill, S.B. 152 (McKell). Utah’s bill is part of a wave of age verification laws that would make users less secure, and make internet access less private...

Participation in the Fediverse

Parts of the fediverse have been in something of an uproar recently over an experimental search service that was under development called (appropriately enough) Searchtodon. The project aimed to enable people to search their own home timeline and...

The Breadth of the Fediverse

The Washington Post recently published an op-ed by Megan McArdle titled "Twitter might be replaced, but not by Mastodon or other imitators." The article argues that Mastodon is falling into a common trap for open source projects: building a...

US Copyright Term Extensions Have Stopped, But the Public Domain Still Faces Threats

We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing...

Here's How Apple Could Open Its App Store Without Really Opening Its App Store

And what we can do about it.With this year’s passage of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), very large online platforms - those with EU revenues of €75 billion or more and at least 45 million EU users - will have to open up their devices to rival...

Letter to the UN Ad Hoc Committee

H.E. Ms. Faouzia Boumaiza MebarkiChairpersonAd Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Criminal PurposesYour Excellency: We, the undersigned...

Dangerous "Kids Online Safety Act" Does Not Belong in Must-Pass Legislation

Every year, Congress must follow through on an enormous and complicated task: agreeing on how to fund the government for the following year. The wrangling over spending often comes down to the wire, and this year, some Senators are considering...

Leaving Twitter's Walled Garden

This post is part of a series on Mastodon and the fediverse. We also have a post on privacy and security on Mastodon, and why the fediverse will be great—if we don't screw it up, and more are on the way. You can follow EFF on Mastodon here.A wave...